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Display of the items use a chewing session. The betel leaves are
variously folded. Slices of the dry areca nut are on the upper left
hand and slices of the tender areca nut on the upper right. The
pouch on the right has tobacco, a recent introduction.

Paan, from the word pan in Hindi: पान, Urdu:
پان, is a South, East and
South East Asian tradition of chewing Betel leaf (Piper betle) with areca nut. There are
regional variations.

Paan is chewed as a palate cleanser and a breath freshener. It
is offered to guests and visitors as a sign of hospitality and at
the beginning of social events. It has a symbolic value at
ceremonies and cultural events in south and southeast Asia. Paan
makers may use mukhwas or tobacco in paan fillings. Most
paan contains areca nuts as a filling. Other types include what is
called sweet paan, where sugar, candied fruit and fennel seeds are used.

Areca nut is often
mistakenly translated in the English language as "Betel
nut", a misnomer, for the betel vine has no nuts. This name
originated with the fact that the betel leaf is chewed along with
the areca nut, the seed of the tropical palm Areca catechu.
Supari or adakka is the term for the nut in many
Indic languages.

Although "paan" is generally used to refer to the leaves of the
betel vine, the common use of this word refers mostly to the
chewing mixture wrapped in the Betel leaves.

Pan Dan (Urdu: پان دان) is used for serving
Paan after a meal. This was a tradition in the Royal families of India and Pakistan and continues to this day.

"Sweet" (meetha paan): Betel leaf with neither tobacco
nor areca nuts. The filling is made up primarily of coconut, fruit
preserves, rose petal preserve (gulkand) and various spices. It is also often
served with a maraschino cherry.

"Trento" (olarno paan): Tastes like betel but has a
minty after taste. Eaten along with fresh potatoes, it is served in
most Indian restaurants.

There are a variety of betel leaves grown in different parts of
India and Bangladesh; the method of preparation also differs from
region to region. The delicately flavoured paan from Bengal is
known as Deshi Mahoba. Maghai and
Jagannath are the main paans of Benaras. Paan prepared
from small and fragile leaves from south India is known as
Chigrlayele. The thicker black paan leaves, the
ambadi and Kariyele, are more popular and are
chewed with tobacco.

Culture

Betel leaf and Areca nut consumption in the world

Chewing the mixture of areca nut and betel leaf is a tradition,
custom or ritual which dates back thousands of years from South
Asia to the Pacific. Ibn
Battuta describes this practice as follows: "The betel is a
tree which is cultivated in the same manner as the grape-vine; …
The betel has no fruit and is grown only for the sake of its leaves
… The manner of its use is that before eating it one takes areca
nut; this is like a nutmeg but is broken up until it is reduced to
small pellets, and one places these in his mouth and chews them.
Then he takes the leaves of betel, puts a little chalk on them, and
masticates them along with the betel."

Paan is a ubiquitous sight in many parts of South and Southeast
Asia, It is known as beeda (in Tamil),
Killi/Tambulam in (Telugu), and
'sireh (in Bahasa Melayu). In
urban areas, chewing paan is generally considered a nuisance
because some chewers spit the paan out in public areas. The red
stain generated by the combination of ingredients when chewed are
known to make a colorful stain on the ground. This is becoming an
unwanted eyesore in Indian cities like Mumbai, although most see it
as an integral part to Indian culture. This is also common in some
of the Persian Gulf countries like the UAE and Qatar, where many
Asians live. Recently, the Dubai government has banned the import
and sale of Paan and the like.[4]

According to traditional Ayurvedic
medicine, chewing areca nut and betel leaf is a good remedy
against bad breath (halitosis).[5]
However, as mentioned previously in this article, chewing this
mixture can possibly lead to oral cancer.

Bangladesh

In Bangladesh paan
is chewed all over the country by all classes of people. Paan is
offered to the guests and festivals irrespective of all religion. A
mixture called Dhakai pan khili
is famous in Bangladesh and the subcontinent. The sweet pan of the
Khasi tribe is famous for its
special quality. Paan is also used in Hindupuja and wedding festival and to visit
relatives. It has become a rituals and tradition and culture of
Bangladesh society. Adult women gathered with pandani [6]
along with friends and relatives in leisure time.

India

In the Indian Subcontinent the chewing of betel and areca nut
dates back ( circa 2600 BC ) to the pre-VedicHarappan empire.[1] Formerly in
India and Sri Lanka it
was a custom of the royalty to chew Areca nut and betel leaf. Kings
had special attendants carrying a box with the ingredients for a
good chewing session. There was also a custom to chew Areca nut and
betel leaf among lovers because of its breath-freshening and
relaxant properties. Hence there was a sexual symbolism attached to
the chewing of the nut and the leaf. The areca nut represented the
male and the betel leaf the female principle. Considered an
auspicious ingredient in Hinduism, the Areca nut is still used along
with betel leaf in religious ceremonies and also while honoring
individuals in most of Southern Asia.

The skilled paan maker is known in North India as a paanwala. In
some parts of northern India, paanwalas are also known as panwaris
(or panwadis). Many people believe that their paanwala is the best,
considering it an art that takes practice and expert touch.

Paan eating was taken to its zenith of cultural refinement in
the pre-partition era in North India, mainly Lucknow, where paan eating became an elaborate
cultural custom, and was seen as a ritual of the utmost
sophistication. The traditional way of paan making, storing and
serving is interesting. The leaves are stored wrapped in a moist,
red colored cloth called 'shaal-baaf', inside a metal casket called
'PaanDaani'. The PaanDaani has several lidded compartments, each
for storing a different filling or spice. To serve, a leaf is
removed from the wrapping cloth, de-veined, and kattha and lime
paste is generously applied on its surface. This is topped with
tiny pieces of Areca nuts, cardamomsaffron, (un)/roasted coconut pieces/powder,
cloves, tobacco etc, according to the eater's personal preferences.
The leaf is then folded in a special manner into a triangle, called
'Gilouree' and is ready to be eaten. On special occasions, the
gilouree is wrapped in delicate silver leaf (vark). To serve, a silver pin is inserted to
prevent the gilouree from unfolding, and placed inside a domed
casket called 'Khaas-daan'. Alternatively, the gilouree is
sometimes held together by a paper or foil folded into a funnel
with the gilouree's pointed end inserted inside it. Voracious paan
eaters do not swallow; instead, they chew it, enjoying its
flavours, and then spit it into a spittoon.

Philippines

Paan has been part of the culture in the Philippines. Known
mainly as tepak sirih in Bahasa Melayu, it is
also commonly and simply referred to as nga-nga in the Tagalog
dialect. Nga-nga literally means "to chew/gnaw". Nowadays,
it is mostly popular with the older populations.

Myanmar

Kun-ya is the word for paan in Myanmar, formerly Burma,
and has a very long tradition. Both men and women loved it and
every household, right up to the 1960s, used to have a special lacquerware box for
paan called kun-it which would be offered to any visitor
together with cheroots to
smoke and green tea to
drink. The leaves are kept inside the bottom of the box which looks
rather like a small hat box but with a top tray for small tins,
silver in well-to-do homes, of various other ingredients such as
the betel nuts, slaked lime, cutch, aniseed and a nut cutter. The sweet form
(acho) is popular with the young but grownups tend to
prefer it with cardamom, cloves and tobacco. Spittoons therefore
are still ubiquitous, and signs saying "No paan-spitting" are
commonplace as it makes a messy red splodge on floors and walls;
many people display betel-stained teeth from the habit. Paan stalls
and kiosks used to be run mainly by people of Indian origin in
towns and cities. Smokers who want to kick the habit would also use
betel nut to wean themselves off tobacco.

Taungoo in Lower Burma is where
the best areca palms are grown indicated by the popular expression
"like a betel lover taken to Taungoo". Other parts of the country
contribute to the best paan according to another saying "Tada-U for the leaves, Ngamyagyi
for the tobacco, Taungoo for the nuts, Sagaing for the slaked lime, Pyay for the cutch". Kun, hsay, lahpet (paan, tobacco and
pickled tea) are deemed essential items to offer monks and elders
particularly in the old days. Young maidens traditionally carry
ornamental betel boxes on a stand called kundaung and
gilded flowers (pandaung) in a shinbyu (novitiation) procession. Burmese
history also mentions an ancient custom of a condemned enemy asking
for 'a paan and a drink of water' before being executed.

Pakistan

The consumption of paan has been a very popular cultural
tradition throughout Pakistan since the start, especially in Memon and Muhajir households. Pakistan grows a large
variety of betel leaf (specifically in the coastal areas of Sindh) although paan is imported in
large numbers from countries like Bangladesh, India, Sri
Lanka and recently, Thailand. The paan business is famously
handled and run by Memon
traders, who migrated from western India when Pakistan was created
in 1947. To explain the popularity level that the paan is sold at,
rough estimates show that an average Pakistani can consume up to
7-8 paans a day.[7]

Cambodia

The chewing of the paan is part of the Khmer culture. Cultivation of Areca nut palm
and betel leaves is common in rural areas of Cambodia. In the
present times many young people have given up the habit in the
urban areas, but many older people still keep it up.

Vietnam

Combining areca nut and betel leaf

In Vietnam the areca nut and the betel leaf are such important
symbols of love and marriage that in Vietnamese the phrase "matters
of betel and areca" (chuyện trầu cau) is synonymous with
marriage. Areca nut chewing starts the talk between the groom's
parents and the bride's parents about the young couple's marriage.
Therefore the leaves and juices are used ceremonially in Vietnamese
weddings.[2]